In a dystopic future, where urban areas have grown into megacities that cover entire coastal regions, the justice system has evolved to a single person invested with the power of police, judge, jury, and executioner: the Judge. Among the Judges of Mega-City One, Judge Dredd is one of the best, and a particular favorite of the Head of the Council, Judge Fargo. But there are evil forces at work in the Justice Dept: block riots and the escape of Rico, a homicidal maniac, are only steps in a plan that ultimately lead to the sentencing of Dredd for a murder he didn't commit. And Dredd must discover the secrets of his own past and survive to stop the evildoers.

[on the flight to Aspen] Herman Ferguson: Dredd? What are you doing here? Judge Dredd: I was convicted of a crime. Wrongly. Herman Ferguson: [laughs] That's kinda weird! What are the odds? Two wrongly convicted guys sitting right next to each other.? Judge Dredd: You received the sentence the law required. Herman Ferguson: Five years? Just for saving my own ass? That was a mistake! Judge Dredd: The law doesn't... make mistakes. Herman Ferguson: Really? Then how do you explain what happened to you? You can't, can you? Great. Mr. "I am the law" can't. So maybe this is some kind of typo. Maybe it's a glitch. Or maybe it's *poetic justice*.

Rico: You want chaos? *I'm* the chaos. You want fear? *I'm* the fear. You want a new beginning? [shouts] Rico: *I'm* the new beginning!

Warden Miller: [after giving Rico a package, which has is Badge and a picture of Hammond in it] So, Rico, what is the meaning of life? Rico: [the package turns into a gun and aims it at the Warden's throat] It ends. [Shoots the Warden in the throat]

Movie Trivia:

Director Danny Cannon was so disheartened over his constant creative disputes with Sylvester Stallone that he swore he would never again work with another big-name actor. He also claimed that the final version was completely different from the script, due to the changes Stallone demanded.

The "flying bike" scenes features three seconds where Dredd is a computer generated image. This is the part where he swoops low over a crowd of punks.

The movie was based upon a popular and long-running British comic book character who first appeared in the comic "2000 AD".

From the beginning the film was intended to receive a PG-13 rating. Due to excessive violence the MPAA refused to downgrade the initial R rating despite repeated appeals by the studio and Stallone. Mostly because of schedule constraints the film could not be re-cut and was released with an R rating.

Early on in development Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for the title role.